Just when we thought that we had saw the last of THQ and the THQ saga, we have learned that publisher Nordic Games as acquired the rights to the THQ trademark, name, and logo. Also this includes the rights to online properties like the THQ Facebook site for example.

Since no one knew who Nordic Games was and the company secured the rights to over 100 THQ sku(s) in the auction, the idea for a second deal became obvious. Nordic plans on publishing games under the THQ name and logo starting with its first new release which will be a new MX vs. ATV title that is being developed the regular development team that worked on the game previously.

Nordic is a small company and with the large amount of IP that it has required, it is now a player, but much more of a real player if the company proceeds using the THQ logo going forward. Nordic has said that they have heard the fans of some of the games begging for the company to bring out new versions of the titles that were bagged by Nordic. Nordic is trying to get it right by providing ample development time and trying hard to make sure that the games that it releases going forward are the right games that are done right.

THQ is the latest publisher to end as a footnote in the history of video gaming. The final liquidation plans for THQ were approved by a Delaware bankruptcy court, which brings the THQ bankruptcy case to a close.

The approved plan will see THQ creditors receive payment out of the monies collected from auction of THQ’s assets. The auction raised $72 million in total, with another $655 million coming from the remaining titles and publishing rights that were sold in April.

So, depending on the creditor’s claim, it is estimated that creditors could get between 20 and 52 percent of the amount they are owed. Still, these numbers are not fully decided; THQ’s European subsidiaries have submitted claims for $107 million and that would obviously lower the overall creditor payment amount if these claims from the European subsidiaries are allowed to stand.

While THQ has come to an end, at least some of its franchises will live on. The new title in the Metro franchise has already been released and the new Saint’s Row title is headed for release very soon. Of course, WWE 14 is on track as well. Other titles that THQ had in development and sold seem to also be making their way toward release, which gives us at least a solid indication that some of the key THQ franchises will survive.

THQ apparently has a long list of people that they owe money to. It was the weight of that debt that crashed the company, as we all know by now. It is surprising, however, to find out that none other than Codemasters is owed quite a bit of money for distribution of its titles in North America as part of THQ’s Partners program.

While Codemasters’s stay with THQ’s partners program was pretty short lived, as they later moved to Warner Bros for their distribution in North America, THQ managed to stiff the company to the tune of $1 million dollars, according to the publisher. The company has filed a claim against THQ, but they will be standing in a long line of those trying to collect.

THQ owes money to a number of others, including Double Fine Productions, Konami, Microsoft Leasing, Microsoft, Sony Pictures, and former THQ president Jason Rubin has filed a $10 million dollar claim, as well.

It is anyone’s guess how much THQ will be able to pay all of these folks who have placed claims against the company, but it is now becoming clear that THQ owed a lot of money and was a sinking ship. We wish those trying to collect good luck, but the list of those owed is so long we suspect that many will see very little.

The final THQ auction has apparently netted the defunct publisher another $6 to $7 million to cover its debts to its creditors. Sources say the auction had apparently received 17 bids and covered THQ IP and back catalog titles.

Some of the titles and IP on the block included the Darksiders franchise, Red Faction, Homeworld, MX vs. ATV, as well as the rights to a number of other back catalog titles from the past that the company owned. We know that many of the team that worked on Darksiders has bid in a Crytek US to purchase that franchise and IP; but don’t get too excited, as that does not mean that a sequel or new content for the franchise is coming.

We have also learned that the crowd funded-bid by indie developer TeamPixel to acquire the Homeworld IP apparently failed. The nearly $60K that the crowd funded campaign bid for the IP rights in the auction was simply not enough, and they were outbid. Refunds are being issued. No word yet on who acquired Homeworld, but in a brief statement, TeamPixel asks for support for the buyer.

This final auction is pretty much the end of the line for THQ’s remaining IP. Much discussion has been made about some of the potential of the remaining IP and what could possibly be in store for the IP once it is purchased. There are some good things left and some things that could have excellent future potential.

Saints Row 4 developer, Volition, has confirmed that when Saints Row 4 is released it will be an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC offering. The current generation of systems is the clear focus of the development plans for Saints Row 4.

As things stand today, the next generation console offerings from both Microsoft and Sony are not part of the release plan for Saints Row 4. This isn’t to say that the game could not be released for the next generation systems at some point in the future, but the August release date does not work because the next generation systems will not even be out yet.

Still, the studio is looking at the next generation consoles and planning for the future. Right now, the studio wants to focus on getting the most it can out of the current console systems.

As the sale of the final THQ assets are sold, word is reaching us the servers hosting THQ titles will be affected; the first of which we are hearing about is the Xbox 360 servers for Nexuiz was shut down. Apparently, the shutdown of the servers came with no real warning.

These are not the only servers that are likely to be impacted. Servers for Homeworld, Darksiders, Red Faction and Nexuiz could be impacted, as these are titles that did not sell in the first THQ auction.

The developer of Nexuiz, Illfonic, says that they will keep the PC servers up and going, but this is because they control these servers and runs them itself. THQ was responsible for running the Xbox 360 servers, so there isn’t anything it can really do about it. While they could obtain control and shoulder the cost of the servers for the Xbox 360, it isn’t justified at the moment with no revenue coming in from the Xbox 360 version.

It is expected that Nexuiz will be taken down from the XBLA for purchase if it has not been removed already.

As we have been hearing whispers about, the legal wrangling has ended; and Take-Two will become the new home of WWE video gaming after a deal was reached with former publisher THQ. According to THQ’s legal team, the ability to reach a deal will save the former publisher millions by Yuke’s reducing its claims against THQ.

The deal has seen THQ, Yuke’s and Take-Two Interactive carve out a deal that transitions the development of the WWE wrestling video game titles going forward. According to rumors, if a deal was not reached, the claims by Yuke’s for breach of contract could have reached as much as $60 million according to information revealed in court documents.

Yuke’s will continue to develop the WWE video games, and Take-Two has confirmed that they have reached an agreement to publish them. THQ staff that worked on the WWE games will be given at least a chance to join Take-Two. It isn’t clear yet who this might include.

Of course, the agreement is pending final court approval; but it is hard to believe that it will not be finalized given the significant savings it brings THQ and the fact that it gets one of its biggest creditors to move on down the road. The news is also good for Take-Two, which picks up a new sports title to distribute and move forward with.

THQ’s bankruptcy has brought to light at least the names of some titles that we have known to be in development, but we didn’t know what they were. Now, at least we are able to put the name with the studios that have been working on them.

Turtle Rock, who is best known for Left 4 Dead, had signed a deal with THQ quite some time ago, but we had not heard any specifics on what they were working on besides rumors that it was a likely a co-op shooter title. Now, we know that the title of the game is apparently called Evolve, and it is being developed using the CryEngine 3. The game, which looks to be targeted for a late 2013 or early 2014 release, is described in the filing as a co-op multiplayer action game.

Vigil was the studio that most recently finished Darksiders 2, and rumors suggested that the studio was not working on a third installment, but instead working on a new project. The rumors are correct; and other than the title is named Crawler and it is said to be a first person shooter, we know little else yet about this one.

Patrice Desillets, formerly at Ubisoft, is leading THQ Montreal in the development of a project only described in the filings as “Project 1666”. Based on what we understand, it would seem that this is a Next Generation Console title that should arrive in 2014 or 2015, depending on the development schedule. Besides a number of rumors, all of which seem to conflict, we can’t find anything out about what this title might be.

Relic, when it isn’t working on Company of Heroes 2, apparently has a second team that has started a new project being developed under the working titles of “Atlas”; it looks to be slated for a late 2014 release that will likely place it on the Next Generation of Consoles, as well.

The filings also confirm that Saints Row 4 as well as WWE 2014 are in the pipeline, as is Homefront 2, which is in development at Crytek UK. Homefront 2 looks to be scheduled for a 2014 second half arrival, but it is hard to say if it will be a Next Generation Console release or if it will arrive for the current generation of consoles.

According to the filing and what has been said so far, the plan is to continue the development of these titles, all of which will be very important to the potential success or failure of THQ. From the outside looking in, we see some potential in these titles that we have not seen in many of the recent THQ releases over the past couple of years. We will first have to see if the court signs off on THQ’s plan and if the company can execute on a comeback that we normally only see in movies.

While seeming to be working very hard at making smart decisions to get things where they need to be, THQ has apparently encountered another bump in the road. THQ President, Jason Rubin, has confirmed that at least two titles will be bumped into next year to allow these titles to reach their full potential.

Metro: Last Light and Company of Heroes 2 have both been pushed back to March. Originally, at one point both titles were set to be released later this year, but neither had a confirmed final release date since the last announced delay; and while the date is later than THQ initially planned, the company believes that this is the right decision.

In addition to Metro: Last Light and Company of Heroes 2, Rubin also announced that South Park: The Stick of Truth would also be moved back from its originally announced date of March 5th. Right now, the company is only saying that they expect the game to be released in early fiscal 2014, which translates into second quarter of 2013 for those trying to keep score at home.

These three releases are big for Rubin, as he has pointed out these are three releases that he has had a direct impact upon since joining the company. The fact that he believes the titles need more time to be market-ready is troubling, but not really unexpected, as Rubin has brought a much higher set of standards that many believe were previously from THQ.

To underline how important these next releases are for THQ, you have to look no further than the release of Darksiders II. After several delays, Darksiders II was finally released; and while it has sold 1.4 million copies, sales have been below expectations, according to Brian Farrell, THQ’s CEO on the company’s recent investor call.

The company had expected much more from the title and it just didn’t deliver, despite solid previews and good pre-order bookings. Reviewers didn’t score the game well, which it is believed contributed to the lower than expected sales numbers. The decreased sales of Darksiders II has really put the pressure on THQ, and THQ will need the next releases to do well; this is believed to be the real reason for giving the titles more time.

Good news for THQ: the company has confirmed that the pre-orders for WWE 13 are doing very.

Additionally, THQ expects strong sales for the latest installment in the wrestling franchise. From what we have been able to learn, the Collector’s Edition of WWE 13 has already sold out for pre-order with some retailers.

The news is good for THQ who needs to continue to get some positive sales from the titles that they have upcoming for release. The game is slated for release on October 30th in North America and November 2nd in Europe for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. No word yet if THQ is planning a specific Wii U release, but our sources say that they doubt it since they are releasing a Wii version.